I'm Always Alright
by human28
Summary: My version of the "Berrisford Agenda". MA friendship.


Disclaimer: Dark Angel solely belongs to the creators and producers of the show.

Spoilers: The Berrisford Agenda. Alternate Universe.

Summary: My version of the "Berrisford Agenda". M/A friendship.

_I'm Always Alright_

The sound of classical music filled her ears the minute she stepped into Sandeman's former residence. Joshua was sitting in the living room, working on his latest painting. She searched the small room for the source of the music but she found the room bare of any radios or televisions.

She decided to find out later. She plastered a grin on her face and approached the fairly larger transhuman. "Hey big fella," she greeted him. Joshua beamed and caught her in a huge hug. She peered at the canvas he was painting on. The background was pitch black, and it was covered with shades of red and gray. But around it was a mixture of different colors. "So, care to explain to me your latest work of art?"

Joshua bobbed his head up and down. "Joshua number fifty-seven – picture of Alec." He gestured towards the canvas. "Outside. Lots of pretty colors. Tricks and treats. Inside, darkness, confusion. Alec."

Max pondered this for a moment. Alec? Confused? She snorted inwardly. Yeah, right. "What's he all dark and confused about?"

Joshua's answer surprised her. "Manticore."

Her blood ran cold. "He's not in trouble is he?" Annoying Alec may be, but she couldn't bear the thought of a world without him. She may not exactly consider him as a friend, but – let's just say that she was not ready for him to -- not be here. _Damn, I'm really getting attached to that jerk. _She thought with a groan. _Guess that makes him a friend. _

"No." Joshua shook his shaggy head. "Alec. Downstairs. Playing piano."

_So that's where the classical music was coming from. _"I'll be right back, big fella." She said and wandered down the rickety staircase. She found herself in a dusty room that she figured was the basement. A lot of dilapidated furniture lay scattered around, and in the center of the room was a rather impressive sight.

He was so absorbed in his playing that he did not notice her enter the room. _He's really good. _She thought appreciatively as she watched him hit the last few keys of his piece. Max smiled as he finished it. "Impressive." She remarked, approaching him. He spun around, startled. Her smile faded when she saw the troubled look on his face. Tension laced his features as he blinked. It was as if he didn't know where he was.

Max frowned. "Are you alright? You seem a bit – edgy."

He snapped out of wherever he just went and forced out a weak smile. "I'm always alright, Maxie. What makes you say that?"

"Well for one thing, I never knew you could play. If I did, I would've hooked you up in some fancy restaurant and let you play for all the rich and fancy people. We would've gotten a sweet amount of cash for that." She said lightheartedly. When he didn't reply, she knew something was up. "Really Alec, what's going on? It's just me, Max. You can tell me anything."

He sighed and covered his face with his hands. "It's too complicated. You wouldn't understand."

"Hey," she said softly, sitting beside him, she touched his shoulder. "Does it have anything to do with Manticore?"

"Why are you doing this Max?" he asked bluntly. "Last time I checked, you wanted me out of your life remember? I thought I was a screw-up, an inane screw-up who wormed his way into your life." The expression he was wearing was unreadable. It was as if he had put on a mask. A blank, emotionless mask that they were once required to represent when they were back at Manticore.

The words stung her. Did he really think she thought of him that way? _Yep, he does, you moron. How many times have you threatened to kick his ass, and called him asshole? _A voice in the back of her head taunted. _Too many times. _She replied guiltily. She pushed the voice away.

"This isn't about me, Alec." She snapped. "This is about _you. _But if you were wondering about that – _no. _I don't hate you. Maybe I did. Once. But that was because your face brought back so many painful memories. Memories of Ben. Memories that haunted my dreams and turned them into nightmares. Seeing you was like a slap to the face. It was difficult for me too, you know…but I came to accept you for who you really are – for being Alec. And as much as I hate to admit this, your family, Alec. And you will always be." her eyes searched his, but she was unable to find anything there. All she saw were inky pools of blankness.

She was about to give up and leave when he spoke up, startling her.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand…in fact, you probably wouldn't. You weren't there. You _ran. _You and your so-called siblings. You think life sucked when we were ten? A little schooling, a little brainwashing, some maneuvers outside? You think that was tough?"

She didn't know how to respond to that, so she remained silent.

"It got a whole lot worse when you left. Especially us – the twins. They sent us to Psy Ops, they had to make sure it wasn't genetic. But we handled it. We _sucked it up." _He laughed, a cold mirthless laugh that sent chills running down her spine. "It's funny. You keep talking about Ben. X5-453. You're psychotic _brother. _When he went on that killing spree of his, wham! It was Psy Ops for me again." He smiled crookedly. "But like I said, I sucked it up. I didn't give up. I was no _coward."_

The emotional pain he was inflicting on her was enough for her to wish that she never came down here. But a small part of her knew that she deserved this.

"Take it from me. Later on, it got a whole lot worse." He stared at the yellowing keys of the piano, running a finger on their smooth surfaces. "But you did what you had to do. Then you tried to forget. And if you couldn't forget, Manticore had ways of making you not care."

"What did they make you do Alec?" she had never seen Alec so – _dead. _It hurt her to even just look at him. To see the neutrality in his face, and the pain that would often flicker in those hazel-green irises of his. "What did they try to make you forget? Please, Alec." She pleaded softly. "_Tell me._"

He looked at her and blinked.

"No."

…

Flashback 

_A black SUV pulls into the driveway. Two agents wearing suits drags him into the car. One of them is holding a detonator. With dread in his eyes, Alec looks back to see Berrisford's car explode into flames. _

"_Rachel!" He yells out in horror. _

…

_He watches the red beam shoot out from the laser. His face was laced with fear. And as the ray of crimson hit his eyes, a series of flashbacks on his failed mission drowns him into painful oblivion. _

_He screamed._

…

_The anomalous creatures rattled the cages of their bars and shrieked at the top of their lungs as several Manticore guards drag a struggling X5-494 through the dim-lit corridor of Manticore's basement. _

_His head falls in defeat. _

…

"_Take him to solitary!"_

_Three soldiers drag an emotionless 494 into an empty cell and lay him on the coolness of the bunk bed. His face is covered with scars, bruises, and dry blood. The results of the torture he was put through._

_He stares off into space._

…

"Look Max, I appreciate your help…whatever that is…but I don't want your pity." He said. There was an edge to his voice. His eyes flashed briefly. "I want your absence."

She opened her mouth to argue, but considered against it. Instead, she nodded shortly and stood up. But just as she reached the basement staircase, she turned around. The desolate figure that sat on the tattered piano seat didn't even spare her a glance. "Don't think that I'm not going to find out about whatever's bothering you because I will."

"Curiosity killed the cat, Maxie." He drawled. "Stay out of my business."

"Cats have nine lives." She responded without missing a beat.

A ghost of a smile flitted across his face. "And just how many do you have left, Maxie?"

She furnished him with one last searching look before shutting the door firmly behind her. It wasn't long until the haunting sounds of classical melodies filled the house once again.

…

She stood on top of the building, watching the solitary figure move through the streets in torment. He was clad in nothing but black, making him appear like a moving shadow. He was oblivious to her presence. Which wasn't much of a surprise, considering the fact that she stood at eight stories above him.

She watched as he stopped dead in his tracks. He pulled out his mobile phone and answered it with a curt 'yeah?' She strained to listen, but found out that he wasn't speaking, merely listening, to the voice on the other side of the line. It was then that he started to run.

She jumped from building to building as she struggled to keep up with him. They reached the end of the block which gave Max no other building to jump onto. Taking a deep breath, she leaped from the edifice and onto the ground below. She landed noiselessly on her feet. She automatically glanced around, looking for Alec.

She spotted him standing right in front of a fairly large mansion. It was beautifully designed, and there was no suspecting that this house belonged to a wealthy family. She saw him switch off the phone and leap over the fence. After waiting for a few more minutes, she followed.

…

"She's given every indication that she likes my company, sir." 494 stood ramrod straight, his face blank and his eyes locked on the dull gray wall behind the two agents who were supervising his mission.

"_Play along, 494." Agent Sandoval said with a smirk. "This can give you beneficial access." _

"_Yes sir!"_

…

_The swimming pool's translucent blueness glimmered under what little light there was in the Berrisfords' backyard. Two figures moved closer to each other in the clearness of the waters. _

"_In case you haven't noticed, I've been throwing myself at you for the past few weeks." Rachel smiled bashfully. Droplets of water trickled down her cheek. "Don't you like me?"_

"I like you."

…

"_Do you understand your mission?" _

"_Yes sir, it's just…"_

"_It's just what, 494?" Sandoval asked irritably._

"_I can eliminate Berrisford without involving the daughter, sir. It just seems to me that the collateral damage is unnecessary…" he trailed off, feeling nervous as he waited for Sandoval's reaction. _

"_You are not in charge of this mission, 494!" Sandoval snapped angrily. "Your job, and your only thought is to follow orders! Are we clear?"_

"_Crystal, sir."_

…

The sound of classical music, much like the piano pieces that Alec had been playing earlier that day reached her ears, and she struggled to keep up with the black shadow that was Alec. He was moving with the grace of a cat, and the silence of a serpent. Max hid behind an antique cabinet as the male X5 paused to turn around. Satisfied with the emptiness of the room, he carried on with his search.

She could only wonder what he was searching for.

She followed him into the living room and again she hid behind another piece of furniture. _It's a good thing that these people have an attachment to antique furniture. _She thought absently as she saw Alec pale.

In the middle of the room stood a grand piano, painted black. A beautiful melody emanated from within it. Using her enhanced vision, she saw that a middle-aged Asian woman was playing the elegant instrument. She glanced up when she saw Alec, she shrieked. "Mr. Berrisford!"

"You're not Rachel," Alec said in a voice that was filled with dread.

A guard came running up towards him, and the transgenic knocked him out with one punch. A man dressed in designer clothing materialized from a room that she suspected was an office. A cynical smile was plastered on his face as he raised a gun and pointed it at Alec.

Max was surprised when Alec made no move to disarm him. Instead, he raised his arms up in defeat and allowed the Berrisford guy to handcuff him to a chair. She froze in her hiding place. _What the hell are you doing, you jackass? _She yelled out in her head. A part of her wanted to jump into the scene and play the knight-in-shining-armor while a bigger part of her wanted to see what would happen.

_I need to find out what he's hiding. _She argued to herself. She couldn't deal with a pensive, miserable Alec any longer. She _needed _to find out what big secret he was keeping from her.

"Welcome back, Simon." Berrisford said with a cold smile. Alec gazed at him, pain lacing his hazel-green irises. Max's heart started to beat wildly in her chest. And she knew that her suspicions were correct. This had something to do with one of Alec's failed missions. This was the reason on why he had been thrown into Psy Ops.

Berrisford's smile vanished. "You came into my house and you pretended to care for my child." He spoke. There was ice in his voice, and it froze the transgenic before him.

"I _did _care," Alec entreated.

"_Shut up!" _The man hit him across the face, leaving a cut on his lower lip. "Don't _lie _to me."

"You made the phone calls," Alec accused. "You played the music." His shoulders slumped in defeat and helplessness. When he spoke, there was tiredness in it. "What are you going to do now?"

The bitter smile was back again, and Berrisford cocked his gun and pointed it straight at Alec's heart. The X5 looked away. "Tell me one thing first. What happened to Rachel?"

Berrisford's voice broke. "She saved my life. That's what happened." Alec's blood ran cold. "If it weren't for Rachel, I would've been sitting in that car. She wasn't that lucky. The blast knocked her unconscious. She fell into a coma and she never woke up."

Alec's eyes widened with pain and regret. And so much guilt.

"She's been dying for two years. Do you have any idea what it's like? Watching somebody you love slip away from you everyday? Do you have any idea _what you've done?"_

Max shut her eyes and breathed in. _So that's what's bugging him. _She blinked away tears. _He put the only woman he ever loved in a coma. _She opened her eyes to see Berrisford cock the gun.

"What are you waiting for?" Alec's eyes were wild…he was practically shouting now. "I deserve it. Kill me!"

Max cracked her knuckles and blurred out of the shadows. She quickly disarmed Berrisford and knocked him unconscious with the butt of his own gun. He fell to the carpeted floor with a solid thud.

Alec stared at her. The expression he was wearing was unreadable. She picked up a nearby key and unlocks the handcuffs. He stood up and stared at her. "Max, I told you to leave me alone."

"If I did, you would probably be dead by now!" She snapped, nearing hysterics. He shook his head and left the room, leaving Max to stare at his retreating back.

…

_Rachel bounded down the staircase, her chestnut brown hair billowing behind her as she did so. A cheerful smile was on her face. 494 ran into the house, glanced around for her and met her on the bottom step. _

"Simon, what are you doing?" she asked, confused.

He urgently tugged at her hand. "We don't have a lot of time. You and your father have to leave town right now."

"Why?" she asked, the perplexity evident in her delicate features.

He grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "I was sent here to kill your father." He stated, inhaling deeply. She gasped. "It was my job. You were my job."

Tears welled in her eyes and she slapped him hard across the face.

"Rachel!"

…

She glanced at her digital watch. It read 9:45. It was still early. She considered leaving ahead of him, he needed his privacy. She sighed inwardly and walked out of the living room. She moved through the hallway lined with several doors, but a single one, which was open, caught her attention.

She peered into it.

What she saw made her heart break.

A girl – Rachel, no doubt was lying unconscious on a bed with a number of monitoring equipment hooked onto her body. They beeped simultaneously. Alec was sitting next to the bed, holding the Rachel's pale hand. A solitary tear ran down his cheek.

"I should've tried harder, Rachel." He said softly. "I should've fought them. I didn't understand." He bowed his head and raised it up again. "I didn't understand how much I love you." He pressed her hand to his forehead, eyes closed. Then he hugged her and buried his face in her shoulder. The telltale trembling of his shoulders told her that he was crying.

Max wiped away her tears and left.

…

She strolled into Jam Pony the next day, hoping to find a certain blonde-haired transgenic. Ignoring Normal's admonitions for her late arrival, she made a beeline for the locker area. He was there as expected, sitting on the wooden bench and putting stuff into his messenger bag.

"Hey," she greeted him, dropping onto the empty space beside him.

"Hey Max." he responded without looking at her.

"Listen, Alec. If you ever want to talk…" she trailed off.

"About what?" he asked nonchantly, as if last night never happened.

"About anything."

He smiled and arched an eyebrow. "Now why would I want to do that?"

Max punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Just consider the offer open."

"Alright…Listen. Thanks for saving my ass." He said sincerely.

"You're alright?" she asked.

And Alec did the last thing she expected. He hugged her. She took this chance and hugged him tight. He released her, his eyes twinkling mischievously. "I'm always alright."

The End 

A/N: Well I won't be alright if I don't get any reviews!!!! Please review!!! I _need _to know what you guys think!


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